


He, the human

by EverlastingSunshine



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M, One-Sided Attraction, Secret Admirer, Spoilers, Tributes, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 15:11:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17727584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverlastingSunshine/pseuds/EverlastingSunshine
Summary: It was December and the sun was setting, when I first saw him.





	He, the human

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is all about Levi's appreciation. And perhaps unreciprocated feelings...? Enjoy.

I woke up with the sound of raindrops falling softly on the windowpanes. Sitting up on bed, and staring out of the window, I spotted people scurrying to get away from the rains. A middle-aged man on the bench seemed upset that his newspaper got soaked, while a couple laughed care-freely and ran toward corner of the block. The rains were pouring harder now. I guessed today our shop would be packed with more customers than usual. Well... better get up, there’s a few pieces of Danish that still needed garnishing. Mom must be busy overheating the ovens again, and dad should already be in his office downstairs, sliding beads in an abacus non-stop.

Our shop had been famous for making fresh pastries and bakeries. It was passed down from my great grandfather to my dad, generations to generations. At first, our family's main income was from bread manufacturing until my great grandparents gave baskets of pastries to the neighbor as thanksgiving presents. The feedbacks were very well received, so they decided to buy the next building and open the bakery shop. As the business started to prosper, we had ever since attracted many business alliances such as Reeves Company, and became the oldest local pastry shop in Ehrmich District of the wall Sina.

Already dressed up, I walked downstairs and opened the wooden door that separated the shop from our residential part when I heard my dad’s voice.

"Our contract remained the same, Mr. Smith. Please do not worry. As we already said, we are proud and very grateful for your services. We’re willing to do our best to help"

“It is our duty and we cannot thank you enough for your contribution, Mr., Mrs. [Last Name]” the man replied. A small nod and firm handshakes were exchanged.

As the doorbell rang, three people exited through the shop’s front door. All of them wore the same green cloak imprinted with the symbol of wings. Mom and dad were standing side-by-side at the front porch until the green-cloak people crossed the street to where the carriage was parked. I watched as the carriage took off.

I turned to gather plates on the table and caught a glimpse of the newspaper’s fist page. The headline read ‘ _Female Titan to be under the close surveillance by Military Police Brigade_ ’. I put down the plates and skimmed through the content. ‘ _We have been reported that Humanity’s Strongest Soldier, Captain Levi—_ ’

“[Name]! Did you eat your breakfast, dear? The Grilled Cheese’s in the oven” Mom gave my cheek a quick peck. “Morning mom”

“—Wait, what’s going on?” I asked her but she already strode toward a kitchen in a back of the store. Confused, I picked up the plates again when dad finally came back inside the shop.

“Dad? wasn’t that...?”

“The Survey Corps? Yes, honey. They came to talk this morning” He gave a slight smile.

“Is everything alright?”

“Of course. Nothing to be worried about” He waved his hand and clasped them together. “They just wanted to know if we’re still agree to supplement their monthly stocks. They thought that the breach of wall Maria and a civil war might have put a strain on our budgets, and that we might want to cease the contract or cut down the amount of stocks”

I frowned “Are we gonna stop sending them the breads?”

“Oh no we’re not. We got this under control” Dad stared at a wall for a moment, then turned to look at me. A confident smile appeared on his face “Stop frowning and get back to work, rookie” He ruffled my hair and disappeared through the kitchen door.

‘The Survey Corps... They must be in a very tough position. Citizens had criticized their expeditions as a waste of taxes, and the number of casualties never seemed to drop. I happened to hear customers discuss a conspiracy about the SC being the manipulator behind the rising riots. Ever since wall Maria was breached by that THING, people were forced to abandon their homes and seek shelters. It’s unfair. What did we do to deserve a life like that of a fear animal trapped in cages?’ I sighed.

More customers were starting to get in the shop. I went to take orders and spent the whole day running back and forth between the reception room and the kitchen.

It was still pouring outside, though lighter than this morning. The darkness of the night had now engulfed the entire street, leaving street lamps with dim lights. I flipped the ‘close’ sign and went to clean the counter when suddenly the doorbell rang.

A tall figure appeared with a foot-length shiny black coat, leaving trails of water onto the floor. His hand clutched at a dark panama hat on his head, and took it off. A face of an old man emerged. His long, strong jawlines and prominent cheekbones were very hard to miss. His piercing eyes were sunken deep, probably from aging. He has a long ebony slicked back hair that touched his broad shoulders. He looked at me right in the eyes and grinned, wolfishly. My stomach turned cold, sensing that he’s not an ordinary old man. I tried to steady my voice, and said—

“I’m really sorry sir, but we are already closed” My hand gripped tightly at the cleaning fabrics. The atmosphere in a room became very tense.

“Huh?” He suddenly stopped grinning, to which I forgot how to breathe.

The man thrusted his hands outwards in a desperate manner “Aw, ain’t no place left for a hungry geezer like me? Not even a shelter from rains?!” His voice’s high-pitched. Then he put his hands back in the coat’s pocket. An intense eye contact was never broken while one of his hand delved deep into a pocket inside of his coat.

I froze into the place, watching him slowly approaching me.

Suddenly he pulled put out a handkerchief to wipe droplets of water off from his face. I sighed out of relief.

“Ya alright?” He stopped to stand in front of me. “Ya looked like ya just seen a ghost” Clicking his tongue, he said “Did ya take me as yer gramps? I didn’t remember having a niece, ya know?” His lips curled upwards. Then he patted me softly on a shoulder, and walked past behind me.

‘Now I felt guilty. How could I suspect such a harmless elder? But his looks and gestures really gave an impression of a professional hitman! Well... guess I was just being paranoid’ I thought

“Brat!” Startled, I turned around to see him looking at a cake stand.

“Ya see...I’m not sure what this ugly little piece of shit bread is called?” The man had a grim look on his face. Despite the harsh words, they weren’t expressed in a way to mean any offence. He seemed to be honestly curious.

“A scone, sir” I replied carefully.

“A scone eh? Hn. That rings a bell” For a brief moment, sadness flashed through his eyes. He abruptly turned around and grabbed a chair only to sit down while putting two feet on the table. “I’ll have it. The scone” He put on the panama hat again and crossed his arms.

“Just wrap it in a paper, missy. I’ll save the thing for breakfast” The mysterious old man picked up the newspaper to read, the one I hadn’t finished reading yet.

“Yes sir” After making sure that the scone was wrapped up properly, I put the piece in a paper bag, and made my way to where he was sitting. The old man sat still, fixating on the news he’s reading. I handed him the paper bag but he didn’t respond.

“Mr.?”

“Hm?” “Oh, here” He pulled a banknote from one of the pockets and said that de didn’t have coins. Visible wrinkles appeared on his hands. I waved my hand to decline, and told him that the scone costed only 2 pennies, and that I had to walk down the basement to get the changes. So I decided to give it as a treat. When I placed the paper bag on the table, I forgot to put a little jar of strawberry marmalade we always served together when customers ordered a scone. I told him to wait for a second and went to find it. When I came out from the kitchen, he had already gone, leaving only the newspaper and the banknote that was placed beneath a cup plate.

I looked outside the windows and saw that it had stopped raining. I took the newspaper and went upstairs to my bedroom. I remembered reading something about the humanity’s strongest soldier this morning. Falling onto the bed, I picked up from where I left off. ‘ _We have been reported that Humanity’s Strongest Soldier, Captain Levi, was still recovering from the leg’s injury after the fight to capture Female Titan in a forest nearby the territory of Wall Maria_ ’

Come to think of it. I had never seen Captain Levi in real person, really wondered how he looks like. Though, I had heard quite many stories about him. The rumor spread among the streets that he was born and raised in the underground, and used to be a fearsome thug before joining the Corps. I recalled Marco telling me once that on his first expedition he slayed titans all by his own. Some said that he cared greatly about his subordinates, and his will to fight fueled by the determination to prove that his comrades didn't die for nothing. His reputation as the strongest human grew stronger every time he came back from the expeditions. 

I put the newspapers on the nightstand, and lied down in bed. I tuned to look at the night sky. There weren’t many stars tonight.

‘How could one be so brave? Going outside the walls to fight those monsters. Did he have a proper time to rest from works, or a family to go back to? Perhaps, a lover? What kind of dreams did he have? I wonder what he would do after the titans are all eradicated. Ah... Humanity’s strongest soldier, aren’t you tired of fighting?’ I closed my eyes and still couldn’t picture his life as it seemed so much different from mine.

A sudden knock on a door pulled me back into reality.

 "[Name]?" Mom opened the door and peered inside.

"Yes?"

"A telegram from Marco. He asked for a sick leave. So, tomorrow can you deliver the stocks to Survey Corps' HQ in his place?" "Or do you want your father to go instead?"

"Oh no. I can do it" I reassured her with a small smile.

"Okay. Good night, then"

"Good night, mom" As she closed the door, I went back to bed. 'Tomorrow I'll do the deliver for Marco' 

The calming silence had now covered the entire district. That night my mind had wandered through a longest dream where I went to one place.


End file.
